Isaiah 18
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 18
Ethiopia
1 Woe to the land of buzzing locusts
beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,[a]
2 sending ambassadors by sea
in papyrus vessels across the waters.
Go forth, you swift messengers,
to a nation tall and bronzed,
to a people dreaded near and far,
a mighty and conquering nation
whose land is crossed by many rivers.
3 All you who inhabit the world,
you who dwell on the earth,
you will see when the signal is raised on the mountains
and hear when the trumpet is sounded.
4 For this is what the Lord said to me:
I will quietly look down from my dwelling
like the shimmering heat of the summer sun,
like a cloud of dew during the harvest heat.
5 For prior to the harvest, when the flowering is over
and the blooms become ripening grapes
the shoots will be cut off with pruning hooks,
and the branches will be cut away and discarded.
6 They will all be left
to the birds of prey on the mountains
and to the wild beasts of the earth.
In summer the birds of prey will dwell there,
while the wild animals will winter on them.
7 At that time offerings will be brought to the Lord of hosts from a tall and bronzed people dreaded near and far, a mighty and conquering nation whose land is crisscrossed by rivers, to Mount Zion, the place where the name of the Lord of hosts dwells.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 18:1 Rivers of Ethiopia: the reference is to the Upper Nile and its tributaries.
Isaiah 18
King James Version
18 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
2 That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!
3 All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.
4 For so the Lord said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.
5 For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches.
6 They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.
7 In that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount Zion.
Isaiah 18
New King James Version
Proclamation Against Ethiopia
18 Woe (A)to the land shadowed with buzzing wings,
Which is beyond the rivers of [a]Ethiopia,
2 Which sends ambassadors by sea,
Even in vessels of reed on the waters, saying,
“Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth of skin,
To a people terrible from their beginning onward,
A nation powerful and treading down,
Whose land the rivers divide.”
3 All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth:
(B)When he lifts up a banner on the mountains, you see it;
And when he blows a trumpet, you hear it.
4 For so the Lord said to me,
“I will take My rest,
And I will [b]look from My dwelling place
Like clear heat in sunshine,
Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
5 For before the harvest, when the bud is perfect
And the sour grape is ripening in the flower,
He will both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks
And take away and cut down the branches.
6 They will be left together for the mountain birds of prey
And for the beasts of the earth;
The birds of prey will summer on them,
And all the beasts of the earth will winter on them.
7 In that time (C)a present will be brought to the Lord of hosts
[c]From a people tall and smooth of skin,
And from a people terrible from their beginning onward,
A nation powerful and treading down,
Whose land the rivers divide—
To the place of the name of the Lord of hosts,
To Mount Zion.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 18:1 Heb. Cush
- Isaiah 18:4 watch
- Isaiah 18:7 So with DSS, LXX, Vg.; MT omits From; Tg. To
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
